Since a knitted fabric has excellent characteristic features such as soft touch and stretchability, it is used for various clothing applications including sport clothing and inner lingerie. However, the knitted fabric has such excellent characteristic features, but on the other hand, since its constitutional threads form a loop and are projected on the kitted fabric surface, there is involved a defect that it is easy to generate snagging as compared with a woven fabric.
In order to improve such a defect of the knitted fabric, there have hitherto been made various investigations. For example, for the purpose of enhancing the force of constraint of a thread appearing on the knitted fabric surface, there are known a method for twisting a thread constituting a kitted fabric (see, for example, Patent Document 1); a method for increasing the density of a knitted fabric (see, for example, Patent Document 2); a method for solidifying the fabric surface with a finishing agent; and the like.
However, the knitted fabrics obtained by the foregoing methods involved a problem that soft touch and stretchability which are original characteristic features of the knitted fabric are impaired.
It is described in Patent Document 3 that a low-torque composite yarn is obtained by imparting interlaces to a doubling of a false-twist crimped yarn having S-direction torque and a false-twist crimped yarn having Z-direction torque.
[Patent Document 1] JP-A-2002-30548
[Patent Document 2] JP-A-2003-247149
[Patent Document 3] Japanese Patent No. 3749549